I was going to post a how-to on battery fan replacement, but it's already been done!

 

This (scroll down to the post by aeromech1) is the best guide I've found on this process. I followed it myself about two months ago, with no real issues.

The only small problem was that I found getting the top cover off (and especially back on) more difficult than expected due to the lip on the back of the cover. So total time for me was about 2 hours.

 

I certainly didn't mean to dissuade you from posting your description of the process. Having multiple guides is a great thing. I was looking forward to reading your write-up and seeing your pictures.

 

Can't find any post by aeromech1????

 

Perhaps it was moved, deleted, etc...

I'd be glad to post some instructions, but I won't have any pictures. Still, I'd be more than happy to answer any questions. Give me a bit and I'll do a write-up.

 

It's still there, about 2/3 the way down the page. The direct link is:

http://forums.edmunds.com/discussion...cat=affiliates

But I'll repost the text here (there are pictures on the other site). This is not my writing, this is a repost of Aeromech1's post, and I will gladly remove it if anyone objects to it. It's been over a month since I did mine, so my write-up might be a bit fuzzy. Still, I can certainly answer any questions you might have about it.

-----REPOST FROM OTHER FORUM------

Posted by: Aeromech1 (for the shared benefit of FEH owners everywhere and in the information sharing spirit of the world wide web)

The following is a "how to" on changing the battery fans in a 2005 FEH. The fans ARE NOT under the battery warranty at this time. The kit that was purchased from Ford is 5M6Z-10C659-A. The price is around $250 for both fans.

Here's the narrative:

My buddy Darrin owns a 2005 Ford Escape Hybrid. Recently, his wife experienced an error message while driving that ultimately lead to a fault with the battery cooling fans in the rear of the vehicle. These two fans actually live inside the large (220 pound) battery pack under the rear cargo floor. For this vehicle the fans are not under the battery warranty and the dealer wanted more than $800 to replace them. Darrin and I decided to give it a try ourselves. The fans cost Darrin around $250 from the dealership and the part number for the replacement kit is: 5M6Z-10C659-A. Inside the kit you get the two fans, some ty-raps, and a couple other small items. Detailed instructions are also included. We read the instructions but ultimately didn't follow them word for word.

We saw that the instructions called for removing the battery assy from the vehicle but we did find a way that the battery fans could be replaced without taking the whole assy out.

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Notice the top of the battery. It has two separate top covers. The rear cover is above the two fans and can be removed with the battery in the vehicle. The first thing you will want to do is turn the orange switch to the off position which disables the battery power. Then you can lift straight up on the switch now and rotate it further CCW to the shipping position.

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There is an exhaust duct on the aft left side of the battery that needs to be removed before the rear cover comes off.

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Now you'll need to remove several self tapping screws from the top rear cover. They are T30 tamper resistant torx screws

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Once you get the top rear cover off you'll find that it is attached by two grounding cables. Remove these so that you have better access.

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Now you should see that two fans and their top cover. Remove the top cover from the fans.

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The two fans are mounted the same on each side. You'll find 4 nuts holding them down. Remove the nuts with a 10mm socket. Looking at the forward part of the fan you'll see a thin top cover held down by two small self tapping screws. Remove this cover. Cut several ty-raps securing the wires and then disconnect the quick plug for the fan. Each fan also has a green ground wire you'll want to remove as well.

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Now, here's the tricky part (it's not that bad). You're at the point where you want to pull the fans out but they won't come aft because in front of the fan exhaust is a 4 inch tall black plastic stanchion that supports the top lid. Simply grab the stanchion with some channel lock pliers and pull it loose to get it out of the way.

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Hello - a ford dealer is suggesting i need to replace my battery fan due to the wrench light, but this light has been on for 80,000 miles ever since the blend door actuator was replaced and the mechanic at the time said he couldn't find out how to reset the light or shut it off. I have had the cooling pump replaced as well. The dealer said they really didn't have a trouble code other then the battery cooling system, but nothing specific. I asked him the question, "if the fan was really bad, wouldn't the battery heat up to the 140 degree danger zone at some time in the last 80,000 miles or 2 1/2 years? " Also, my mpg are great, at about 35 mpg combined, and I have no other issues with the car, or any other PULL OVER SAFELY lights since before the blend door actuator and cooling pump were replaced in 2012. Can't the dealer look at the battery temp and see if it is really getting hot? It seems foolish (for me anyhow) to spend $1200 on a new fan for a battery that appears to be functioning fine. The car has 211,000 miles on and the wrench has been on since about 148,000. Any suggestions? Thanks-

 

I'll also add this. Not to knock Ford service, but you'd be surprised how little many FoMoCo dealership service people know so little about these vehicles. Ford sent some through special training, but being 10 years old, they may not really know what they are looking at now. That's why I would try to get the code they pulled from the system and see what they are basing their "fans failed" conclusion on. I've heard of a few cases of dealership service people saying that when it was really something else, but they just didn't understand the whole system and sequence of operations behind it.

 

Thanks very much PeteSxerszen1- that was what I was thinking. I am pretty sure in 80,000 miles and in three road trips to FL from MN, I would certainly see some evidence of the fan on the battery being faulty. I am going to try and see if the ford diagnostic can give more info like how long this error has been showing and what max temp the battery ever got to by their records.
Thanks again!

 

When my battery fans started to fail, there was really no mistaking the problem. Vehicle rarely dropped into EV mode and fan noise from the rear increased significantly (and never really stopped).

If you're seeing no clear signs of degraded hybrid performance, I'd be reluctant to sink the time and money into this service. Ford service is expensive and DIY is a fair amount of work. Plus working inside the HV battery pack is not something to be taken lightly.

That being said, it's a very doable DIY if you've got the tools. As I mentioned above, my only difficulty was dealing with the lip on the cover. Took some real force to get that thing back on!